Chapter 484 - 485: A Confrontation at the Door
Chapter 484: Chapter 485: A Confrontation at the Door
"Wait, isn’t there one more place we haven’t searched?" someone in the merchant caravan shouted.
Everyone present knew exactly where he was referring to.
"As if the official’s wife would be interested in your paltry things!" a villager immediately jumped out to defend her. "She hasn’t thrown her weight around using her status, which is already a show of goodwill to us common folk."
"Exactly! She has so many carriages, almost half as many as all of you combined. How dare you try to drag her into this?"
The County Magistrate’s face darkened instantly. "What? You want to search an official family?"
’The hierarchy of scholar, farmer, artisan, and merchant isn’t just for show,’ he thought. ’These are mere merchants, yet they dare to have such ideas.’
"Your Excellency, you are mistaken. If we are to be treated equally, then everyone should be treated the same," a merchant said, stepping forward under the glare of the crowd.
The leader of the escort recognized him at a glance. He was someone who had been squeezed into the caravan just before they departed. He seemed to be named Xu.
"Are you one of the victims?" the County Magistrate asked, looking at him thoughtfully.
At that moment, a young guard beside Lin Dazhuang quietly slipped away.
"Replying to Your Excellency, this humble one has indeed lost some things. It may seem trivial to some, but to us traveling merchants, it’s like losing half our lives. We implore Your Excellency to grant us justice."
...
When Jin Qianqian heard the report, she had a strange feeling.
She had her belongings counted once more and ordered the guards to carefully inspect the front and back of the house.
She glanced toward the back of the house, handed her two children to the nanny, and said she was feeling a bit stuffy and wanted to walk around outside for some fresh air, telling everyone else not to follow.
Lichun and the others were still worried and would only agree to follow from a distance.
Jin Qianqian let them be, walking along the vegetable patch behind the house toward the foot of the mountain.
’If this is really aimed at me, it would be impossible to plant anything under the noses of so many guards. The only plausible explanation is the mountain behind the house.’
The family who owned this house was quite particular about cleanliness. They had gathered pebbles to pave a path in front of and behind the house, which added a certain quaint charm.
Near the back mountain, the grass grew thick, and the dewdrops on the blades glittered under the sun.
Jin Qianqian stood still, looking around, before lifting her foot and heading in a specific direction.
Behind her, Lichun and the others grew anxious. "Madam, let’s go back! If you want to enjoy the scenery, we can walk toward the village."
Jin Qianqian quickened her pace. By the time Lichun and the others caught up, she had already turned around, acting as if nothing had happened.
Li Qiu stared at the hem of her dress and said worriedly, "The early spring dew is chilling, Madam. We should go back and change your clothes first."
Jin Qianqian looked down and saw that the bottom half of her silk skirt was soaked. "I thought I saw a wild rabbit run past just now, but I guess my eyes were playing tricks on me."
"Madam, should we have someone ask around in the village? Since we’re so close to the mountain, there should be hunters here," Li Qiu said, helping her walk back.
Jin Qianqian replied, "Having someone ask around is a good idea. Everyone has been working hard on this journey. The road ahead might be even more desolate, so we should buy as many extra supplies as we can."
She had just changed into a clean silk skirt when people arrived at the gate of the small courtyard where they were staying.
They were currently being blocked by the guards. Although the men didn’t dare to force their way in, they were ceaselessly shouting for justice.
Lin Dapeng was standing outside the courtyard. "What do you think you’re doing? This is the Magistrate’s family! How dare the likes of you think of searching them?"
"The entire village has been turned upside down, and your place is the only one we haven’t checked."
"There’s been a conflict on both sides. To put everyone’s mind at ease, just let people go in and take a look. It’s not like you’ll lose anything."
"You’re not letting us in to search... are you hiding something?"
"I worked so hard to scrape together enough silver for a shipment of goods, and now more than half of it has been stolen! This is going to be the death of me! Since you’re an official family, you should be the ones seeking justice for us common folk!"
"Me too! I borrowed from all my relatives and friends, hoping to make a comeback with this shipment. We beg for the Madam’s mercy, please let us go in and look!"
"You people are being completely unreasonable! Listening to you, it sounds like you think we’re the ones who took your things!" Lin Dapeng gripped the sword at his side. If any of them dared to rush forward, he wouldn’t mind shedding some blood.
’We’ve been nothing but proper and law-abiding this whole journey,’ he thought. ’I can’t believe they’ve mistaken our decency for being easy to bully.’
"Whatever the case, let us in to take a look!"
"Could it be that you have a guilty conscience?"
"I’ve heard that many official families aren’t as glamorous as they appear. Some even have... special hobbies."
"No way!"
"Who knows? You can know a person’s face, but not their heart."
Just then, the leader of the escort walked over and spoke softly to Lin Dapeng. "These few who are talking the loudest right now weren’t originally part of our group. They were all squeezed in at the last minute before we left."
"And most of the goods reported missing this time belong to them."
That statement spoke volumes. Lin Dapeng narrowed his eyes and stared at the men. "You’d never seen them before?"
The leader of the escort shook his head. In their line of work, there were countless merchants traveling north and south; it was impossible for them to have met everyone.
Lin Dapeng was hesitating whether to go in and report when Lichun ran out and whispered something in his ear.
"Would the people who just wanted to come in and search please step forward," Lin Dapeng said loudly, glancing at the crowd.
"What? Are you trying to use your authority to intimidate us?"
"No. Since you want to search, we need to know whose idea it was."
"If this has nothing to do with us, then we’ve been wrongly accused for no reason. Someone must step forward and take responsibility for that."
"What, you dare to come here and make a fuss but you’re too afraid to face the consequences?"
The people who had just come along to watch the commotion began to back away. To be honest, their losses weren’t significant, and some had only come to see how these men would cause trouble. They had no intention of getting involved themselves.
Seeing some people start to turn and leave, Xu Mutou had no choice but to step forward, tugging at his clothes. "I am one of the victims. I lost the most goods. Of course, I know that the Madam wouldn’t be interested in our paltry things."
"But now the entire village has been searched, and the goods couldn’t have just vanished into thin air. Perhaps the culprit hid them in some corner. This is the only place that hasn’t been checked. We ask the Madam to grant us the convenience of letting us look."
Lin Dapeng said, "Oh? So this is just your idea? Does anyone else feel the same way?"
Xu Mutou could feel that the people who had been standing next to him were now distancing themselves.
He turned his head to look at the other merchants who had also lost things. "Don’t you want to find your belongings?"
Someone immediately shook his head. "Forget it. My things weren’t worth much silver anyway. I’ll just count it as an unlucky loss."
"We were all mistaken. Given the Madam’s status, how could she possibly take our things? The thief has probably already left with the goods."